21. You will perhaps wonder where the Druids gained all their knowledge. I cannot tell you; but many learned men think that the first Druids came from India or Persia, as the religion they taught was very similar to that of the Persians and Hindoos.
22. They did not believe in the true God, but told the people there were many gods, and that they were in trees and rivers, and fire, which they worshipped for that reason.
23. They had no churches, but made temples, by forming circles of large stones, of such immense size that nobody can guess how they were carried to the places where they stood, for there are some of them still remaining.
24. They used to hold several religious festivals in the course of the year, when all the people made holiday, and the bards played on their harps and sang, and there was plenty of feasting, and merry making; and they used to light bonfires, and make an illumination by running about with torches in their hands, for they believed that a display of fire was pleasing to their gods; and so you see that our custom of having fireworks, and illuminations, and bonfires, on days of public rejoicing, is as old as the time of the ancient Britons.
25. The Druids had a great deal to do on those days; for they used to go to their temples and say prayers, and sacrifice animals for offerings to their false gods; and on New Year’s Day, they walked in procession to some old oak tree to cut the mistletoe that grew upon it, for this was one of their religious ceremonies; and the oldest Druid went up into the tree to cut the plant, while the rest stood below singing sacred songs, and holding their robes to catch the boughs as they fell; and crowds of men and women stood round to see them.
26. But I must make an end of this chapter about the ancient Britons, and tell you how the Romans came and conquered the country, and made quite a different place of it.
QUESTIONS.
3. What was England called in ancient times?
4. How did the Britons resemble the American Indians?